US banking giant Citigroup hopes to expand its footprint in the Chinese financial sector via the acquisition of licenses for a range of new trading operations.
Citigroup plans to apply for permission from Chinese regulators to engage in the trading of securities and futures, as well as to provide guarantees for stock and bond sales, according to a tweet made by state-owned news publication Global Times.
A spokesperson from Citigroup’s Hong Kong office said that the bank was in the process of “[exploring] opportunities to further support its local and global customers in China.”
News of Citigroup’s ambitions to expand further into the Chinese market arrive just a week after it announced that it will withdraw from retail banking in 13 markets around the global as part of a strategic readjustment.
